Capturing Chaos

It would be wonderful if every writer could have an automatic recording device plugged into their brain. No more of those great ideas that pop up just as you’re falling asleep, that you try to burn into your brain so you can write them down in the morning. I should have learned my lesson by now, but for some reason, I always think I’m going to hang onto that stroke of genius until morning. Even if the stroke of genius amounts to nothing more than an idea for the next blog post, it’s frustrating to wake up and remember that there was something important to remember. And that I forgot what it was.

How about an automatic filing device? Whatever happened to that little notebook and the pen that I used to keep by the bed, just in case inspiration hit in the middle of a yawn? There weren’t that many bolts from the blue, so the notebook got moved to where note-taking was more likely to happen. And every now and then, I find a little stack of pages ripped out for immediate action and then buried under growing piles of odds and ends that just don’t seem to fit in any sensible category for safe-keeping. Thank goodness, I don’t write on the backs of envelopes.

I used to think that the computer would be the solution. I could enter every note in a handy program that would store my ideas safely, and allow me to find them by keywords. Nobody touting the wonders of computers ever considered that messy and forgetful minds create messy and forgetful computers. So there are bits of paper all over my apartment, and virtual bits of paper all over my computer. Whatever I’m looking for is likely to be in any one of dozens of places. But that’s okay. Out of confusion comes a new game. It’s called Treasure Hunt.

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